A man who accused the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, of mishandling his abuse complaint has said she is not fit for the role after the Church of England dismissed the case. The alleged victim, referred to as N, told the Guardian he would exercise his right to appeal against the decision by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, not to take further action against Mullally.
Mullally is due to succeed Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury on 28 January. Welby resigned after facing criticism over his handling of a separate safeguarding scandal. N accused Mullally of colluding with his alleged abuser, a vicar in London, by sending a confidential email about the complaint to the priest in question. He claimed this led to harassment that drove him to suicide attempts.
The Archbishop of York’s office announced on 7 January that Cottrell had determined no further action would be taken. N said the decision was expected and criticised Cottrell for having a conflict of interest, as he is also the subject of a separate complaint from N on the same matter. Cottrell himself faced calls to resign last year over his handling of a previous abuse case.
Robert Thompson, a vicar in the London diocese and member of the General Synod, called for a pause to Mullally’s appointment. He said the dismissal “does not close the trust deficit” and reinforces perceptions that senior church leaders are insulated from scrutiny. The Diocese of London maintained that proper processes were followed and that no outstanding complaint against Mullally existed.
Lambeth Palace acknowledged that N’s complaint had not been followed up due to “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption”. N said he had filed further church disciplinary complaints against both Mullally and Cottrell that remain in process.
